7 QBs drafted before Dak.. No joke!
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is on the hot seat heading into the 2023 season, after leading the league with fifteen interceptions in just twelve games played last year.
A former fourth round draft pick, the Cowboys made Prescott the eighth quarterback off the board in the 2016 NFL Draft, and the one-time Mississippi State star has been the starting signal caller in Dallas over the last seven seasons.
The pressure for Prescott to lead Dallas on a deep playoff run is at an all-time high, especially with Trey Lance now on the Cowboys roster after a shocking trade with the San Francisco 49ers this preseason.
Despite compiling some impressive personal statistics as well as some recent regular season success in his time as the starter—after just two playoff wins in seven years, the 2023 season may be Prescott’s final opportunity as the starting quarterback in Dallas.
But what if the Cowboys had gone in a different direction in 2016?
Today we take a look back at the seven quarterbacks drafted before Dak Prescott in the 2016 NFL Draft…
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Who were they? And where are they now?
Pick #1 – Jared Goff
The Los Angeles Rams traded up in the 2016 NFL Draft to acquire the number one overall pick, selecting quarterback Jared Goff from Cal.
Goff had an impressive college career in the Pac-12, setting numerous school records while leading the Golden Bears to a bowl win in 2015 before forgoing his senior season to enter the draft.
After losing all seven of his starts as a rookie, Goff started all sixteen games for Los Angeles in 2017 under new head coach Sean McVay, leading the Rams to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth while being selected to his first Pro Bowl and winning Most Improved Player.
Goff would take another leap forward in his third season, making another Pro Bowl and helping guide the Rams to a Super Bowl appearance after a remarkable 13-3 season in which the former first overall pick passed for 4688 yards with 32 touchdowns.
After two more mainly middling seasons in Los Angeles, the Rams traded Goff along with a plethora of picks to the Detroit Lions in exchange for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Goff has spent the past two seasons as the starter in Detroit, making his third career Pro Bowl last season—and now enters the 2023 campaign looking to earn a lucrative long-term extension from the Lions.
Pick #2 – Carson Wentz
The second quarterback off the board in 2016 was North Dakota State signal caller Carson Wentz, who the Philadelphia Eagles selected with the number two overall pick.
After an underwhelming rookie year, Wentz took the NFL by storm in his second season—throwing for 3296 yards with 33 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions before an ACL injury ended his Pro-Bowl season late in the Eagles 2017 campaign.
Wentz was the likely MVP front-runner before his injury, and sadly had to watch from the sidelines as his backup Nick Foles led Philadelphia to a Super Bowl victory.
The former second overall pick returned to start eleven games for the Eagles during the 2018 regular season slate, taking Philadelphia to the playoffs before bowing out in the divisional round to the New Orleans Saints.
Wentz again quarterbacked the Eagles to the playoffs the following season before another early postseason exit signaled the beginning of the end for Wentz in Philadelphia.
The Eagles selected quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and Wentz responded with his worst statistical season as a starter, while the questions about his future with the franchise became deafening.
Leading the league in interceptions and with the Eagles owning a 3-8-1 record, Wentz was benched for Hurts twelve games into the 2020 campaign—before finally being traded to the Indianapolis Colts during the offseason.
Wentz spent just one season in Indianapolis and after playing well for the majority of the 2021 slate, the Colts along with their quarterback imploded down the stretch—missing the playoffs and leading owner Jim Irsay to trade Wentz to Washington.
The Wentz experience in Washington was an unmitigated disaster, with the quarterback winning just two of his seven starts on the season and generally looking unprepared and utterly inept in most of his appearances in 2022.
Wentz was released by the Commanders after the nightmare of a season, and is currently a free agent likely looking for his last NFL contract as an emergency backup.
Pick #26 – Paxton Lynch
Chosen with the 26th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Memphis, Paxton Lynch was thought to be the Denver Broncos future franchise quarterback, but never lived up to his lofty draft status and started just four games in his two seasons with Denver—compiling a 1-3 record as a starter before being released during the Broncos final cuts of the 2018 season.
Lynch bounced around numerous NFL practice squads over the next few years, spending time with the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers before stints in numerous minor leagues—including the CFL, USFL, and XFL.
The former first rounder is currently a member of the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL.
Pick #51 – Christian Hackenberg
After a stellar freshman season at Penn State, Hackenberg was below average over his next two college campaigns but still was selected in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. The 51st overall pick spent his first two NFL seasons with the Jets but was often inactive on game days as the team’s third QB.
In 2018, Hackenberg was traded to Raiders for a seventh round pick but was released from the team just a month later. The former Penn State signal caller then signed with Philadelphia Eagles but didn’t make the final roster and also spent a short time on the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad before being waived.
Hackenberg became just the third quarterback selected in the first or second round in the common-draft era to not play a game in his first two seasons.
After spending 2019 with the Memphis Express of the AAF, the arena league folded and Hackenberg currently works as the quarterbacks coach for Winslow Township High School in New Jersey.
Pick #91 – Jacoby Brissett
A third round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2016 draft, Brissett has put together a solid NFL career as a reliable backup and spot starter.
The former North Carolina State signal caller started his career as the backup behind Jimmy Garappolo in New England with Tom Brady serving a suspension for the Deflategate scandal.
Brissett became the first African-American quarterback to ever start a game for the Patriots and even won a Super Bowl ring that season as the third string QB after Brady’s eventual return.
Brissett was traded to the Indianapolis Colts the next season, following an injury to Colts starting quarterback Andrew Luck—and ended up starting fifteen games for Indianapolis in 2018.
After serving as the backup in 2019, Brissett started another fifteen games for the Colts in 2020 when yet another injury to Luck thrust the former third-rounder into action.
Brissett played in five games as the backup to Tua Tagovailoa with the Miami Dolphins in 2021, before signing with the Cleveland Browns in 2022—starting the first eleven games of the season while filling in admirably for suspended starter Deshaun Watson.
A highly respected and highly dependable player, Brissett is a solid game manager that can start games in a pinch and is currently the backup to first-year starter Sam Howell in Washington.
Pick #93 – Cody Kessler
After a decorated college career at USC, Kessler was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third-round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Despite being behind Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown to start the season, Kessler ended up starting eight games as a rookie, completing 66% of his passes for 1,380 yards with 6 touchdowns to 2 interceptions.
While Kessler looked at least competent during his time as the Browns starter, he lost all eight of his starts but ended up staying on with Cleveland as the backup in 2017 before being traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars the following season.
Kessler started four games for Jacksonville in 2018 before he was released, spending time with both the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots in 2019 but has been out of football since.
Pick #100 – Connor Cook
The seventh quarterback taken before Dak Prescott, Cook was a standout at Michigan State before being selected by the then-Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
After starting the 2016 season as the third quarterback on the Raiders depth chart behind Derek Carr and Matt McGloin, Cook saw his first NFL game action as a rookie in relief of the injured options in front of him before making his first career start in a playoff loss versus the Houston Texans.
In the lone start of his NFL career, Cook completed 18 of 45 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions with Oakland losing 27–14 in the Wild Card round.
Cook saw no game action with the Raiders in 2017 while serving as the third-string quarterback behind Carr and new second-stringer EJ Manuel and was released the following season after the Raiders traded for A. J. McCarron.
After bouncing around NFL practice squads in 2018 and 2019, Cook was last seen as a backup with the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2020.
